I know I'm almost a week and a half late on this post, but I was on vacation last week. Last Saturday, Jason and I and some friends participated in the Global Night Commute to raise awareness of the LRA kidnappings in Uganda. It was quite an experience.

Children in Uganda walk each night from rural areas to the cities where there are designated safe houses for them to sleep. They have to make this commute each night to avoid being kidnapped by the rebel army. Even on their nightly trek, they run the risk of abduction.

A couple of guys flew to Uganda and filmed a documentary about this tragedy. The documentary is titled Invisible Children. A must-see for anyone who seeks to broaden their awareness on a global scale.

The filmakers decided they wanted to push this issue to the forefront of our foreign policy, so they created an idea titled The Global Night Commute. They asked Americans to travel to urban areas either on foot or using public transportation. Certain cities would have designated areas where you camp out for the night. Upon arrival to your site, you would write two letters: one to your congressman and one to President Bush. Then, everyone was asked to create a piece of artwork that would be published in a book. The artwork was stapled to a polaroid picture of you so that faces would be attached to the crises.

One of our friends put together a video of the night, if you would like to view it click here.

The experience for me held such a feeling of community. It was really great to see people from all over Atlanta, of all social circles, come together for such a selfless purpose.

posted by Kelly @ 9:16:00 AM